The"blueprints were upside-down" joke never gets old at Fengjing Ancient Town, in China's Jinshan District, where workers were putting the final touches on this inverted abode. Furnishings inside the whimsical house will also be installed upside-down.

Afghan zookeeper Qurban Ali (right) tries to prevent Marjan the lion from playfully eating a well-dressed visitor to Kabul's zoo. The lion was kept by a wealthy businessman on a private rooftop in the city until the animal, sick and close to death, was rescued by animal welfare officials last year.

as police officers storm the blocked entrance of the Taiwanese parliament in Taipai. About 200 students and other activists protesting the ruling Kuomintang Party's contentious trade agreement with China took over the main chamber of the parliament overnight and barricaded doors.

An Iranian performer lights fireworks during Chaharshanbe Souri, or Wednesday Feast, marking the eve of the last Wednesday of the Persian solar year in Tehran's Pardisan park. The festival has been frowned upon by Islamic hard-liners since the 1979 revolution because of its association with Zoroastrianism, one of Iran’s ancient religions.

An unidentified man poses with two Tibetan mastiffs after they were sold at a luxury pet fair in Hangzhou, China. One reportedly fetched almost $2 million in what could be the most expensive canine sale ever.